UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, along with other Labor Licensing Policy Committee members, gathered Wednesday in Bascom Hall to hear findings from Special Assistant to the Chancellor Dawn Crim's recent trip to El Salvador to investigate the Hermosa factory situation.
Crim showed a slideshow of the trip, explaining she met with three worker groups, two from factories and one from the now-closed Hermosa factory, whose workers were laid off without pay compensation and allegedly ""blacklisted"" from further employment in the apparel industry for unionizing.
Hermosa was a former subcontractor for Adidas, which the UW Athletic Department has a contract with for its apparel.
""Some things were better than we might have expected, and others we may have some serious concerns about,"" Wiley said of the contract UW-Madison Student Labor Action Coalition members have been calling on the university to cut.
In order to discuss further steps the university must take regarding the Adidas contract, according to Wiley, the LLPC must meet in closed session. Contract matters that need legal counsel can be met about behind closed doors, in accordance with the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law, according to Special Assistant to the Chancellor LaMarr Billups.
""From their account, it does sound like blacklisting,"" Crim continued, adding the former Hermosa workers said they have found it difficult to find employment without a letter of recommendation from the now-closed factory. They also said they have to try to find employment further outside their neighborhoods.
""There also was no confidence in the El Salvadorian government"" to provide any resources for unpaid wages, Crim said, and Hermosa's factory owner ""basically watched it close"" and is now being prosecuted in a court of law.
SLAC and LLPC member Joel Feingold stated the factory did indeed violate UW's contractual code of conduct, and the Adidas contract should be cut immediately.
""We have to think about how to productively stay in the game,"" Wiley said, referring to whether UW should cut the contract. ""I believe that staying engaged to make progress is better than taking a self-righteous stance that distances us—it's our intention not simply to let this drop.""
Feingold argued Adidas has an ethical responsibility to the Hermosa workers and to ensure its contractors' codes of conduct are not broken.
""They like this situation,"" Feingold said. ""They like that they can't be held responsible.""
The LLPC members set a tentative date for the evening of May 3 to meet in closed session and discuss the Adidas situation.
